Sonic & Tails Adventures
by LibraGeek
Summary: This is just a series of one-shots about Sonic and Tails' adventures together that they have growing up. - On HIATUS -
1. A New Adventure

**A/N: Okay, so this is a new series centered around Sonic and Tails' adventures, from when they first meet to the present. The stories don't go in any specific chronological order, so I'll put down the duo's ages before every chapter. **

**Sonic is 9 and Tails is 2. Their ages can range from 9-15 (Sonic) and 2-8 (Tails), respectively. **

**Disclaimer: No, I don't own Sonic, Tails, or the like. That privilege belongs to SEGA and the Sonic Team. **

**Picture Disclaimer: The picture I used, "Heads or Tails", is by a very talented artist named SpitFireLex. If you haven't already, you should check her out on DeviantArt. **

**A New Adventure**

_This takes place before the events of Sonic the Hedgehog 2, about a month after Sonic finds and adopts Tails. Thanks and enjoy!_

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><p>Sonic smiled knowingly as he entered the living room. There, he was greeted by the sight of a two-tailed fox kit tinkering with what looked like a partially dismantled toaster. The cobalt hedgehog chuckled. This wasn't the first time he had walked in on his little bro taking apart some defenseless household appliance, and it certainly wouldn't be the last. In the few weeks he'd known Tails, one characteristic about him became very clear; the kid loved machines.<p>

"Geez, Tails. What did that poor toaster ever do to you?" Sonic teased, causing the two-year-old to jump. He had been so engrossed in his work that he didn't even notice the hedgehog's entrance.

Tails looked down at the mess that used to be a kitchen appliance and back at his brother with apologetic eyes. "Sorry, Sonic. I just wanted to see how it worked." Even if Sonic had been serious, it was impossible to stay mad at that gaze.

"Hey, don't sweat it bud," Sonic said. A sly grin played its way onto his face. "I actually have a little surprise for you after you're done."

Tails ears perked with interest. "Really? What kind of surprise?"

The hedgehog's smile widened. "One I know you'll like. Hurry up and finish so I can show you."

"Okay!" Tails agreed. He turned back to the mess of mechanisms and started putting it all back together with skilled little hands. In three minutes flat, the random assortment of parts was back to its original form, though Sonic was sure the kit had made some sort of modification to the device to make it better somehow.

"Done," the kitsune exclaimed, standing up and handing the finished product to his brother. "Can I please see the surprise now?"

"Sure, kiddo," Sonic said, placing the toaster back in its rightful place on the kitchen counter. "Come on, it's down in the garage."

That caught Tails' attention. Sonic had never allowed him in the garage before, so he wasn't quite sure what kind of objects it would house. There was one thing he knew for certain; whatever was down there was going to be awesomely cool.

His assumption was proven to be accurate, as a few minutes later the kit was practically gushing over the red and silver vintage-style bi-plane he had just been introduced to moments before. The _Tornado_, as Sonic had dubbed it, was an impressive one-seater aircraft with the hedgehog's name painted on either side. Tails probably spent a good fifteen minutes just looking at the thing from every angle imaginable. Though the kit took a liking to all machines, he felt most at home with those suited for air travel. Seeing a real-life airplane up close like this was mind-blowing to him.

Sonic stood around patiently, enjoying the sight of seeing Tails so happy. For the past two weeks or so, Sonic had been waxing and polishing the _Tornado_ to near perfection, even going so far as to give the engine a little tune up. It didn't look quite like new, but it sure looked better than the dust collector it had been before. Sonic preferred to travel by foot, so the plane only left the house when the hedgehog's adventures took him overseas, which frankly didn't happen very often. In fact, the last time Sonic took the Tornado out for a flight was when he took that trip down to South Island about a year ago.

"Yo, Tails," Sonic said, getting the kit's attention, but just barely. "If you think looking at it is fun, wait 'til you see it in action. We're gonna take this puppy out for a little test drive."

Tails gasped, staring astonished at his brother for a moment before tackling him into a massive bear hug. For a two-year-old, he was surprisingly strong. "That's so awesome! You're the best brother ever, Sonic!"

"You too, little bro," Sonic coughed. "Now, whaddaya say we get this thing started up?"

"Okay," Tails replied excitedly, finally letting loose his hold on the hedgehog so he could run back to the _Tornado_. After taking a moment to catch his breath, Sonic followed. Now situated in the driver's seat, Sonic checked to make sure all of the systems were functional while also trying to remember exactly how to fly an airplane. It had been a while, but he figured it would just come back to him, like riding a bike.

He was right, more or less, and soon he had the plane up and flying northward through the clouds. Though the aircraft was only meant to carry one passenger, Tails was small enough that he fit in next to Sonic comfortably. The hedgehog smiled as he glanced over at the kit by his side, who looked absolutely mesmerized by the view.

Not long afterward, they were flying out over the ocean. It gave Sonic a bit of an uneasy feeling being this high up over such a massive expanse of water, but he knew he was safe. They needed to make a pit stop anyway, and according to the map he brought, an island not far from their current location was up ahead. They could stop there and refill the tank, maybe rest for a bit, before they headed back home.

No sooner had the thought occurred to the hedgehog than he noticed a large mass of land in the distance. It was hard to miss, probably even bigger than South Island. For Sonic, it was just nice to see something other than the endless stretch of blue that was making him so edgy.

"Hey, Tails," Sonic called over the wind, causing the kitsune to pull his head back from over the plane's edge (he loved the feeling of the breeze hitting his face). "See that island up ahead?" he asked, pointing. The kit followed the indicated direction and nodded when he saw the island. "That's Westside Island. We're gonna stop there for a little bit and-"

Without warning, the plane jerked violently, causing its occupants to lurch along with it. Something resembling a laser had hit the left wing, damaging it and causing the aircraft to spin out of control.

"Ah! Sonic!" Tails yelled, clinging onto the side of the _Tornado_. He had never been in an airplane before, but he was pretty sure this wasn't supposed to happen.

Sonic didn't respond. He was too busy trying to regain control over the damaged aircraft. Whatever hit the plane definitely wasn't a natural occurrence, nor was it friendly, but Sonic could worry about that after he landed. The island wasn't far ahead now, so he aimed the plane's rapid descent as best as he could in that direction. "Hold on to something, Tails," he warned. "This is gonna be a rough landing."

They ended up crashing onto the beach of the island. It wasn't the most graceful landing, but at least both of them came out of it alive and relatively unscathed.

"You okay, Tails?" Sonic asked as he checked over the cub for any bodily injuries. Besides the occasional bruise or scratch he seemed unharmed, much to the hero's relief.

"Yeah Sonic, I'm fine," the kit reassured his brother. He looked over at the wreckage. "What happened?"

Sonic followed the kit's gaze. From what he could access, the left wing was in obvious need of repair, as was the propeller, since they had basically nose-dived into the sand when they "landed". Apart from that and a few other more minor problems, it really wasn't that bad. It definitely could have been worse.

"I don't know, bud." That was a lie. Sonic had a feeling he knew exactly who was responsible for his now ruined plane, though he wanted more than anything to be wrong.

It looked as if Tails caught onto Sonic's fib, because he gave the hedgehog a skeptical look. Luckily he didn't push the subject further. Internally, Sonic gave a sigh of relief. He had only given Tails vague descriptions about the mustached maniac he fought all the time, but the kid was getting more and more curious. Soon, Sonic's lack of detail wouldn't cut it anymore, and Tails would want to help out in some way, maybe even ask if he could fight as well. And though it would be nice to have someone help him battle Robotnik, there was no way Sonic was going to risk putting his brother in danger.

"Come on, let's go see if there's a town or something nearby," Sonic said, changing the subject.

Tails eyes widened. "In-into town?" he stammered nervously.

Sonic winced in sympathy. The poor kid had been bullied his entire life because of his "deformity", forced to fend for himself in the woods because no one was around to take care of him. He had been living like that, homeless and often starved, for who knows how long before Sonic found him and took him in as his little brother. It was understandable that the cub didn't want to go to a place where a large number of people might be.

Unfortunately, going into town was necessary. They needed to find a mechanic who could fix up the _Tornado._ And there was no way Sonic was leaving Tails by himself; not with the possibility of Robotnik being around.

"Tell you what," the eldest of the two negotiated. "We'll rest for now, maybe catch some z's, and then look around for a settlement tomorrow."

This seemed to calm Tails down, if only slightly, and he nodded in agreement. Neither mobian had noticed how late it had gotten, but now as they looked toward the horizon, they saw that the sun was indeed making its nightly descent, a few stars already appearing in the sky.

By the time the sun fully disappeared, the two brothers were already taking rest in the _Tornado_; on the sections that weren't damaged of course. Sonic himself was lounging on the right wing (the one that didn't get shot), with one leg propped against the other and his hands linked together behind his spiky head. His eyes were closed and he was snoring lightly, signaling that he was asleep. Tails, who was lying in the cockpit, found sleep to be far less obtainable than Sonic had. The prospect of going into town the following day was keeping him awake.

Giving up on his attempt at finding sleep, Tails got up and climbed out of the cockpit, making sure his movements were silent so he wouldn't wake his brother. Once on the ground, he started walking along the beach's ocean, picking up any stone or shell he found interesting. It was a good distraction.

As the kit examined a particularly odd-shaped rock, he paused when he thought he heard something. Looking up, his eyes widened in interest when he saw a super cool flying robot thing not 10 yards ahead of him*. Its back was turned to the kit, so he couldn't see exactly what it was, but he did know what he wanted to do with it. His two-year-old curiosity quickly won over caution, and he made his way toward the strange machine.

The bot's scanners picked up on the movement and it turned around swiftly, causing Tails to halt uncertainly. "Uh…hi?" he said timidly.

"…scanning…subject 100% mobian…must eradicate," the drone pronounced in monotone. It charged at Tails, who yelped and quickly dodged out of the way. He wasn't used to a machine acting hostile toward him, but he wasn't stupid. Remembering something he saw Sonic do once, the kit curled up into a ball and started spinning in place, building up energy. Once he felt the time was right, Tails released his momentum and shot out in a spin dash, instantly turning the robot into scrap metal. As he looked back at the pile of parts he left in his wake, he was surprised to see a little flicky chirping cheerily next to it.

_"Thank you so much for helping me!"_ Tails heard it say. The kit didn't know this, but the fact that he could understand the creature's dialect was somewhat of an oddity**.

"You're welcome!" he replied happily. After the flicky flew away, Tails walked over to examine the destroyed robot. As he was studying it, he got a great idea. Gathering up all the parts, he made his way back to the _Tornado_, still keeping his movements quiet so he wouldn't wake Sonic up and ruin the surprise.

-line break-

Sonic opened his eyes and stretched out his limbs, which were aching from him lying on the _Tornado_'s hard steel wing all night. The sun hadn't even risen yet, and it was, in Sonic's opinion, way too early for him to be getting up. "I sure hope Tails got a better night's rest than I did," he grumbled to himself. He glanced over toward where said kit was situated, only to do a double-take when he saw an empty space instead.

His previous drowsiness was quickly replaced with panic. "Tails?!" he called out in alarm. His mind was already picturing the worst. Before he could do anything rash, a little foxy head popped out from under the Tornado.

"Yeah, Sonic?" Tails questioned, curious as to why his name was being called.

Sonic hopped down from the bi-plane's wing. "Geez, Tails. You nearly gave me a heart attack," he said. He was way too young to be having one of those.

The kit's ears dropped and he wrapped his tails around himself, something he always did when he was feeling nervous or remorseful. "Sorry, Sonic. I just didn't wanna wake you and ruin the surprise."

Sonic gave a confused look. "Surprise?"

As an answer to the hedgehog's inquiring, Tails pointed towards the _Tornado_. The hedgehog's eyes widened when they fell upon the totaled aircraft. Or at least, the _once_ totaled aircraft. To the hero's utter bewilderment, the plane looked perfectly fine. It was as if the previous day's crash never happened.

"Tails, did you do this?" the hedgehog asked in astonishment. Tails gave a sheepish nod, not entirely sure how his brother would react.

"That's awesome!" the nine-year-old exclaimed, startling the younger of the two.

"Really?" Tails asked. In all honesty, he had been half expecting Sonic to be mad at him for messing with the plane.

"Totally," Sonic replied, walking over to examine the kid's work. "Where'd you get the parts for all this anyway?"

"I got them from the mean robot I found on the beach last night," the kit answered simply. Sonic's whipped around to face his brother.

"What robot?" he asked, trying to keep his voice calm.

"The flying one with the flicky in it," Tails replied. "It tried to hit me, but I hit it first with that cool spin thing you do. After that the flicky thanked me and flew away."

"Tails, that's dangerous," Sonic scolded. "You shouldn't have gone out by yourself, you could've gotten hurt." Or worse…

The kit's smile fell at his brother's tone. "I'm sorry," he said. "I just wanted to see what it did. I didn't mean to make you mad."

"No, it's okay bud," Sonic reassured. Tails didn't know the risk of running into a badnik, and frankly, the fact that the kid took one down by himself was really impressive. He lowered himself down to the kit's eye level. "You just scared me. Those things are bad news. You mean a lot to me, lil' bro, and I don't want to see you get hurt."

Tails nodded, signaling that he understood.

Neither mobian noticed the creature who was spying on them from the forests bordering the beach, concealed by the dense foliage. The hedgehog-like being strongly resembled Sonic, apart from its silver metal coating and glowing red irises. "Is Master receiving visual and audio transmissions as requested?" the robot questioned over the communication link built into its system.

From far away, on an entirely different part of the island, an obese individual sat in the control center of his newest base, watching and listening to the video feed being sent to his computer. "Yes, Mecha Sonic," Robotnik said through the link. "You can leave the premises now. I have what I wanted."

Robotnik turned off the connection and sat back in his chair, fingers intertwined as a dastardly plan began to take shape in his mind. "So, the hedgehog has a little sidekick," he thought out loud. From what he had heard, the blue menace seemed to actually care for the fox kid. The doctor smiled deviously at this new discovery. His mortal enemy was unknowingly carrying the key to his own downfall right into the evil scientist's clutches. "I think I could use the little brat to my advantage." An evil laugh escaped the doctor's lips, echoing eerily throughout the base.

-line break-

It was late afternoon on the shores of Westside Island. Sonic was lounging in a similar fashion as the night before, this time under the shade of a palm tree, watching surreally as the waves crashed onto the coast of the beach. Tails was sleeping soundly on the hero's lap, having been exhausted from staying up all night fixing the _Tornado_. The kid definitely deserved a nap before the duo departed.

Just then, the conscious mobian's ear twitched as it picked up a whirring noise from the other side of the beach that sounded suspiciously mechanical. After finding out about Tails' little run-in with one of Ro-butt-nik's machines, Sonic wanted nothing more than to bash some bot heads. Carefully detaching the sleeping kit from his abdomen, Sonic stole one last glance at his charge before zipping off noiselessly in the direction of the sound, completely oblivious to the hovercraft that appeared after his departure.

"That should keep the hedgehog busy for the time-being," Robotnik muttered to himself from his patented Eggmobile. "Now to put my plan into action."

-yet another line break-

Tails was jolted awake by a loud crashing sound. He quickly stood up and looked around, only to find that he was completely surrounded by an army of robots, all varying in shape and size. Floating above them all was a hovercraft carrying an overweight bald guy that Tails didn't recognize. Sonic was nowhere in sight, which only added to the kit's growing anxiety.

The man in the hovercraft chuckled. "Hello, Tails."

Tails looked up in surprise. How did this guy know his name?

The kit's shocked expression only seemed to amuse the stranger. "Allow me to introduce myself," he continued. "My name is Dr. Ivo Robotnik, evil genius extraordinaire and future ruler of Mobius."

_Robotnik_. Why did that name sound so familiar? Whoever he was, he definitely wasn't a good guy. Tails had no idea what the 'evil genius extraordinaire' wanted with him, but he had a feeling he wasn't going to like the answer.

"Where's Sonic?" he asked.

The doctor seemed slightly disappointed that the kit wasn't freaking out, but he answered anyway. "He's out and about, rebelling as always. But that won't matter for long. Once I capture his precious younger brother, he'll do whatever I ask." Before Tails could react, he yelled out, "Badniks, seize him."

All at once, every robot surrounding Tails advanced on him. Before they could reach him, however, the kit spun his twin tails rapidly in a helicopter-like motion, causing his body to lift off the ground and hover above the mass of machines, taking Robotnik completely by surprise.

"Wait, what!" he exclaimed. "That defies physics!"

Tails ignored the doctor and started attacking the badniks from above. One by one, all of the hostile machines were replaced with cute, harmless critters, ranging from flickies to pockies to peckies. Tails had just destroyed the last one when a giant mechanical claw arm nabbed him from behind and brought him up to face Robotnik in his hovercraft.

"I think I underestimated you," the doctor said in a menacing tone that sent chills down Tails' spine. "That won't happen again."

Meanwhile, on the other side of the beach, Sonic was in a similar situation, though his chances of success were significantly higher. He didn't know exactly how many badniks he was taking out, since he had lost count when he hit thirty, but he was having a blast nonetheless.

"Man, Ro-butt-nik really needs to step up his game," he said as he finished off the last few moto bugs that were left. "He's just wasting his resources with all these random ambushes."

As he paused to take a breather, an onslaught of critters, seemingly from out of nowhere, rushed the hedgehog and tackled him to the ground. They all chirped and chatted urgently, like they were trying to tell him something.

"Um, guys," Sonic said he stood back up "I kinda have no idea what you're trying to say."

All of them started gesturing madly toward the east side of the beach, where Sonic had just come from. He gave a confused look, but then it clicked. That was where he had left Tails. Which meant…

Not wasting another second, Sonic performed his figure-8 move and shot off at full speed, hoping he wasn't too late.

"You know Tails," Robotnik said conversationally, oblivious to the fact that all of the critters were inexplicably absent. "I must say, I'm rather impressed. It isn't every day you see a two-year-old repair a broken down bi-plane in a single night. Perhaps you can be of some use to me once that blue nuisance is taken care of."

Tails did _not _consider that a compliment, and just doubled his efforts to free himself. The claw arm holding him was an extension of the Eggmobile, and it was big enough that it incased Tails' entire body in its iron grip, making it extremely difficult to move.

Suddenly, a blue blur came rushing in and cut right through the arm holding Tails captive, slicing it in half. The kit landed safely on the ground, watching as the blur turned and continued to attack Robotnik's hovercraft, crashing into it again and again until it looked as if it was on the brink of falling apart.

Sonic screeched to a halt and turned to face Robotnik, stepping protectively in front of Tails as he did so. "Stay the hell away from my brother," he said, voice dripping with rage. The doctor was shocked. He had never seen the nine-year-old speedster so serious before. He took the hint and high-tailed his Eggmobile out of there as best as he could, but not before shouting out, "This isn't the end, hedgehog! This island and its secrets will soon be mine!"

Sonic shook his head. That was way too close. How could he be so stupid and irresponsible? He'd been Tails' guardian for a month and already he'd managed to almost let him get captured by an egg-shaped psychopath. That had to be some kind of record.

"You okay, Tails?" he asked, turning to look at the kit.

"Yup, I'm fine," he replied. He didn't seem the least bit shaken by the whole fiasco.

"Come on bud. Let's get you home."

Tails looked distraught by this. "But what about all the critters? They need our help."

Sonic sighed. The last thing he wanted was for Tails to get dragged into this. Sonic had actually been planning to drop Tails off at home and come back to foil whatever Robotnik's newest plot was by himself, but it was obvious that the kid wasn't about to back down and let him fight the doctor alone.

Before the hedgehog could say anything, however, all of the critters chose that moment to show up. They gathered around the two mobians and chattered excitedly, obviously happy that they made it out okay.

As Tails played with the animals, Sonic took a look around and, for the first time, noticed just how much of a mess the area was. There were piles upon piles of robot scrap scattered everywhere. It looked as if he had stepped foot in a junkyard – or some kind of badnik burial ground. It definitely hadn't been like this before Sonic left, and he had a sneaking suspicion he knew exactly who was responsible.

As Sonic glanced back at Tails, he made up his mind. This kid was definitely something special. If anyone could handle themselves in a situation like this, it was him. Plus, Sonic had a feeling that no matter how hard he tried, he wouldn't be able to keep Tails from trying to help.

"Yo, Tails," Sonic called, catching the kit's attention. "Let's speed, keed. We've got flickies to save."

Tails smiled. "Okay! These guys said that they saw some capsules holding their friends in Emerald Hill Zone."

Sonic raised a baffled eyebrow. "Wait, you can understand them?"

Tails returned his brother's confused look. "Can't everyone?"

Okay, so, not only could Tails rebuild a bi-plane and take down an armada of badniks by himself, but apparently he could also talk to flickies. How many bombshells could this kid drop on him in a day? "Alright, Emerald Hill Zone it is. Let's go."

The duo then sped off on what would be the first of many adventures together.

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><p><strong>AN: And there you have it, everyone. My first one-shot and the prologue to one of my favorite games of all time, Sonic the Hedgehog 2. I really like writing the duo when they're young. It's easiest for me and they're just so darn cute!**

***In case you hadn't guessed, the badnik that Tails ran into on the beach was a Buzz Bomber from the original StH.**

****I made it so Tails had a special connection with flickies, since they're in his super-form. And yes, you will be seeing Super Tails in later chapters.**


	2. Waterlogged

**A/N: First off, allow me to apologize. I had to delete the previous chapter, "Metal Trouble", because I was stupid and didn't see that there was a major plot hole in it. I'll probably remake it, since I actually really liked that one, but for now, consider that chapter non-existent. I'll try not to make any errors like that in the future. Anyway, here is the next chapter.**

**Sonic is nine and Tails is two.**

**Disclaimer: If I owned Sonic the Hedgehog, I'd be stupid rich right now.**

**Waterlogged**

_This takes place shortly after the end of Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (you know, after Sonic defeats Robotnik and sends the Death Egg plummeting down to Mobius)._

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><p>Sonic grinned as he watched his little bro splash around in the waters of Hallow Bay. Tails loved to swim, and was pretty darn good at it too. Back on Westside Island, in the Aquatic Ruins, the kit had helped Sonic get though the parts where they had no choice but to go underwater. If Tails hadn't been there, Sonic probably would have…well, you know. Suffice it to say, Sonic wasn't the best swimmer.<p>

So when Tails had asked his brother if they could visit Hallow Bay, one of the kit's favorite swimming areas, the hedgehog hadn't been so keen on going. Sure, it was a gorgeous day out today, plus there hadn't been any sign of Robotnik since Sonic totaled the Death Egg a few weeks ago, but normally the hedgehog made it his priority to stay as far away from large bodies of water as possible. Of course, when Tails brought out his most lethal weapon – the dreaded puppy-dog eyes – Sonic caved almost instantly, much to the kit's delight.

It didn't take them long to get there. Though Hallow Bay was actually a fair distance from the Mystic Ruins, the brothers reached it in less than six minutes. When they arrived, Tails immediately leapt into the bay's clear waters while Sonic found a nice tree to lounge under on the shore – far away from the watery death-trap – and kept an eye on him.

It actually wasn't that bad. Tails knew about Sonic's fear of water, so he understood when the hedgehog said he didn't want to go swimming. Sonic had been worried that his little bro would get bored playing by himself, but the kid looked like he was having plenty of fun on his own. About fifteen minutes passed before he began to swim a little too far out for the hedgehog's liking – which in reality really wasn't that far, but what could he say? He was paranoid.

"Hey, Tails!" he called. "Try not to get lost out there!"

The kit looked back at his brother. "Don't worry, Sonic. I won't-"

He didn't get to finish his sentence. The kit yelped as something yanked him down under the water's surface. Sonic was on his feet in a millisecond and ran to the bay's edge, eyes wide with panic. "Tails?!"

No answer. Seconds passed, but to Sonic's horror, Tails didn't resurface. The hedgehog's brain kicked into auto-pilot and he dove in after the fox without hesitation. These waters were a lot deeper than the ones back at Aquatic Ruins, which didn't help the hero's anxiety in the slightest. As soon as he hit the water, Sonic felt utter terror seize with unrelenting vigor. He was trapped, surrounded by his greatest fear with no way of escape…

"_No!"_ he thought. _"Snap out of it. You've gotta find Tails."_ He forced himself to calm down and take in his surroundings. His blurry eyes immediately located his brother who, to the hedgehog's dismay, was being dragged down by a Chop Chop badnik that had caught the kit by surprise and managed to snag one of his feet within its metal jaw. Tails was fighting it, trying to force the machine to let go of his foot, but he was quickly loosing oxygen and his movements were becoming more sluggish by the second.

Sonic tried to move toward them, but had little success in doing so. He was so slow! He was moving his limbs in a manner that probably couldn't even be considered swimming. There was no way he was going to make it to Tails in time if he continued at this pace.

Sonic made a split-second decision. He spun in place as if about to launch into a spin-dash, but without any ground to use as leverage there was no way he would be able to fling himself. Or so he thought. Somehow – and Sonic had no waking clue how – he hurled himself at the badnik in his spikey ball form and sliced through it with perfect accuracy. The blue hero was baffled by this new attack he just performed, but he didn't have time to dwell on it. Tails was now unconscious and he himself was beginning to feel lightheaded. He grabbed hold of the kit and pulled him close, trying to look for a way to get out of this wet prison. Looking up, he felt hopelessness envelop him when he saw how distant the surface was. There was no way he would be able to swim that far…

Suddenly, another crazy idea popped into his head. Sonic reached into his quills and pulled out a chaos emerald – the violet one. He and Tails each carried them around for safe-keeping. As the hedgehog held the mystical jewel, he got a strange sense of exactly what he wanted to do with it. He closed his eyes as he tapped into the emerald's energy, causing it to glow. _"Chaos… Control!"_

A bright flash of light engulfed the two mobians, just as Sonic felt that his lungs were about to explode. The next thing he knew, he was kneeling down on the warm sand, gratefully gulping down massive amounts of wonderful air. Somehow, with the power of the emerald, Sonic had _teleported_ him and Tails out of the water and back onto shore. He heard coughing coming from his right, and looked down to see Tails gagging up mouthfuls of water. Sonic almost collapsed with relief. He hadn't been entirely sure if his brother was alive until now.

Once the kit's coughing fits died down, Sonic picked him up and hugged him tightly. "Don't ever do that to me again," he said, though his tone was anything but hostile. Tails held onto him weakly, shaking.

"I don't remember badniks ever being in Hallow Bay," he said softly, his voice slightly hoarse.

"I figured," Sonic said, breaking the hug. He knew exactly what that meant, and he had a feeling Tails did too.

"Eggman's back, isn't he?" the kit asked, confirming what the hedgehog thought.

Sonic nodded. "Yeah. But you know what?" he said. "When Ro-butt-nik shows himself again, we'll be ready for him. And then we'll kick his butt so hard, his ancestors are gonna feel it." The hero winked and Tails smiled.

Sonic glanced down at the kit's bleeding ankle, grimacing when he saw how bad it was. "Come on Tails. Let's go home and get that leg wrapped up."

Tails nodded in agreement, wincing slightly when he tried to stand up. Sonic, knowing the kit wasn't fit to run, hoisted him up and positioned him on his back piggy-back style. Once he knew Tails was comfortable, Sonic sped off in the direction of the Mystic Ruins, thinking about how close he had come to losing the most important person in his life that day.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: So this is when Sonic and Tails first find out that Robotnik survived after StH2. I'm trying to make all of these one-shots tie into the games, so if it gets a little confusing at times, I apologize.**

**If you're wondering about the attack Sonic performed underwater, that was the first time he did a homing attack. The thing he did with the emerald was also the first time he used Chaos Control.**


	3. Metal Hazard

**A/N: Yes, this is that remake I said I would write with a different title. It's similar to the original, but I did fix the plot holes.**

** Okay, so let me explain something really fast. There has always been some speculation as to when exactly Sonic CD takes place in the games' timeline, whether it's before StH2 or even Sonic 3 & Knuckles. The order of the Sonic video games in my version are as follows: Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic CD, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, and Sonic 3 & Knuckles. The events of Sonic CD take place a few months before Sonic adopts Tails, so Tails never encountered Metal Sonic or met Amy.  
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**Sonic is 10 and Tails is 3, which would make Knuckles 11.**

**Disclaimer: Sadly no, I own nothing Sonic the Hedgehog related.  
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**Metal Hazard**

_This one takes place after Sonic the Hedgehog 3._

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><p>Dr. Robotnik was at it again. Three weeks ago, Sonic and Tails defeated the scientist once more after finding out his plans to re-launch the Death Egg from a floating mass of land called Angel Island by using the Master Emerald as a power source. While there, they had met an unlikely ally named Knuckles, a lone guardian of the emerald who had at first been on the doctor's side, but after realizing Robotnik's evil intentions, had helped the two brothers in their quest to stop him. Ever since then, Sonic and Tails had been waiting for the doctor's eminent return, both making sure to keep an eye on the news in case anything popped up there. It was a good idea, since just that afternoon a breaking news report announced that Robotnik (or Eggman, as Tails had grown to calling him) was in the process of invading a small town in the Mystic Jungle called Amberville. As soon as they saw this, the dynamic duo set out to go stop him.<p>

"Why would Eggman attack Amberville?" Tails asked as they were running. He was using his usual method of spinning his two tails like propeller blades to give him a speed boost, so he had no trouble keeping up with his speedy brother.

Sonic shrugged, also at a loss. "No clue, keed. The place is real small and I'm pretty sure their main export is wood, so I can't think of any reason why Butt-nik would wanna invade it."

It took the duo less than a minute to reach the place, since the Mystic Jungle was practically next door to the Mystic Ruins. When they got there, the town was in complete disarray. There were badniks everywhere, setting houses on fire and destroying anything they could get their claws on. Robotnik was nowhere in sight, which definitely wasn't a good sign. Luckily, it looked as if all of the town's citizens had gotten away safely. _"That's good,"_ Sonic thought. _"Makes our job easier."_ They must have had an emergency evacuation plan for calamities such as this.

"Tails," he said out loud. "You put out the fires, I'll deal with the badniks." Tails nodded, and the duo set off, Sonic performing his signature homing attack to take down the destructive machines while Tails flew above the wreckage and used water from a nearby pond to douse the flames. This went on for a while until an egg-shaped hovercraft came from out of nowhere, quickly catching the pair's attention.

An all-too familiar laugh sounded from the vehicle. "Oh-ho-ho-ho! Hello Sonic, Tails. What brings you here?"

Sonic rolled his eyes. "Why are you attacking Amberville, Robotnik?" he called, cutting to the chase. He really hated small-talk, especially with narcissistic scientists who wanted to take over the world.

"No reason, really," the doctor answered. "I just needed something to lure you two to me so I could put my newest invention to the test. What better way of doing that than invading an innocent town?"

"That's not nice, Eggman," Tails piped up, flying down and landing next to his brother.

"Robotnik!" the doctor corrected in annoyance, causing Sonic to snicker. "And you won't be laughing for long once you see what's in store for you." He pushed one of the many buttons on his control pad, sending out a signal to his newest creation. Or rather, his newest _re_-creation.

Not a second later, something crashed in front of the two mobians, causing a cloud of dirt to temporarily obscure the object. Once the dust settled, it became apparent what it was, and Sonic's eyes widened as recognition hit him. It was hard to forget that blue metallic coat and those glowing red irises.

"I'm sure you remember Metal Sonic," Robotnik said smugly. "This new one, however, is better. He's faster, stronger, and smarter than the previous model was."

To Sonic, that didn't sound very encouraging. Back on Little Planet, when he had first met the admittedly good-looking robot, he had just barely managed to outrun it (him?) in a race that led to the android's downfall by Robotnik's own laser cannon. Sonic probably should have expected the doctor to build another one, but the idea never crossed his mind.

"Previous model?" Tails asked, looking confused. He didn't remember ever fighting this particular robot. Aside from the name difference, this model also looked nothing like Mecha Sonic.

Though the question was directed to Sonic, it was Robotnik who answered. "Mecha Sonic wasn't the only hedgehog-based creation of mine. Before that, I had made a sleeker, more simplified version of the machine which, thanks to Sonic, turned out to be a complete failure."

"So what, you build yet another knockoff and expect me to be impressed?" Sonic said, though he was still wary.

"Perhaps a demonstration will change the faker's mind," a mechanical voice replied. It took Sonic a second to realize that it was Metal Sonic speaking. _"Oh, great,"_ he thought sarcastically. _"Now it can talk."_

Before Sonic could come up with some snarky remark, Metal Sonic rushed toward his organic counterpart with incredible speed, leaving nothing but a blue streak of color in his wake. Sonic and Tails were both just barely able to dodge the attack in time.

"While I'd love to stay and witness Metal Sonic rip you to pieces, I have other business to attend to," Robotnik said. "Farewell, hedgehog." With that said, he flew off in his Eggmobile, leaving Metal Sonic to do his dirty work for him.

Metal turned and charged at the duo again. Sonic was the first to react, timing a round-house kick perfectly so that it hit Metal square in the head, causing him to crash into a nearby tree.

"Looks like you're still too slow," Sonic smirked.

Metal picked himself up and accessed the situation, calculating what his next move should be. He made to strike Sonic once more, and the hedgehog braced himself for impact. Before they met, however, the robot suddenly changed course and headed straight for Tails. With the speed in which Metal was going, there was no way Sonic could intercept him before he reached the kit.

Luckily, Tails' reflexes were just as fast as his brother's. He quickly flew out of the robot's reach and used his hard-hitting namesakes to whack the android off of his feet.

Tails hovered back over to Sonic's side, who gave him a fist-bump. "Great job, lil' bro," he said. He turned to face his doppelganger. "You can't beat both of us, Metalhead."

Metal stood up once again. "The faker will soon be proven wrong." Without another word, he shot off into the jungle, Sonic and Tails following closely behind in hot pursuit. They were slowly gaining on the android, all the while trying to avoid tripping over or smacking into the thick vegetation. Robotnik wasn't lying when he said this Metal Sonic was faster than the first.

It looked as if the two were about to catch up to the sentient robot when, without warning, Metal activated his anti-gravity function and shot up above the tree line. Both mobians screeched to a halt, uncertain.

"Where'd he go?" Tails asked, looking around.

"Don't know bud," Sonic answered. "But keep an eye out."

The two stood stock-still, senses on high alert for any sign of Metal. The utter silence made Tails feel extremely uneasy. He should have been able to hear all of the insects and critters chattering about happily, but he could hear nothing besides his own breathing. About thirty seconds passed before one of the kit's hyper-sensitive ears twitched as it picked up a noise.

He turned to his brother. "Sonic, behind you!" He ran and tackled Sonic out of the way, just before the hedgehog would have been attacked by his perfectly camouflaged copy. Unfortunately, Tails wasn't fast enough to get himself out of range, and was subsequently grabbed by the scruff of his neck by cold steel hands.

Sonic quickly stood up and saw that Metal Sonic was several feet away, holding Tails in front of his person by the throat.

The hedgehog growled. "Let him go, Metal!"

"I am programmed to terminate any known threat to Master," the robot replied, digging his claws deeper into Tails' throat, causing a small yelp to emanate from the kit. "This mutated cub falls into that category."

It took everything Sonic had not to rush over and rip the robot's head off. He wasn't willing to risk his brother's life by being his usual careless self. He needed to play this one smart.

"Looks like you really haven't changed since Little Planet," Sonic said. He was stalling. He needed time to come up with a plan. "You're still just one of Robotnik's mindless pawns."

Though Metal's face was expressionless, Sonic could have sworn the robot sounded irritated. "I have been programmed with a special AI that gives me the capability of free will. I am far from a mere servant, faker."

"Then explain to me why you're doing what Robotnik ordered you to," Sonic countered. Before the robot could quip, his whole frame stiffened as if he had just been paralyzed. Then his body began to jerk and shake, making it clear that the robot was malfunctioning. After a few seconds, his limbs seemed to fail him as well and his arms grew limp, allowing Tails to slip out of his grasp. Sonic, seeing his opening, dashed forward and performed a homing attack on the lethal robot. Whatever glitch Metal was having was leaving him completely vulnerable, much to Sonic's delight. He was still pissed, so once Metal let go of Tails, the hedgehog showed no mercy while assaulting his robotic copy.

He didn't stop until he was sure that Metal Sonic would be out of commission for a long time. He double-checked to make sure the robot was completely inoperative before walking over to Tails, who for some reason had this strange mischievous look on his face, as if he knew something that his brother didn't.

The hedgehog immediately grew suspicious. "Tails, what did you do?"

The kit smiled at him with all the innocence a kid his age could show. "He had a hidden control panel on his back. I used my tails to open it up and mess with the wires."

The hedgehog shook his head, though he couldn't quite hide the smile from his face. "Keed, sometimes you're so smart it's scary."

The kitsune giggled cutely as the pair walked back to where the village was.

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><p><strong>AN: Man, I love Metal Sonic. He's my third favorite character in the series, with Tails and Sonic taking the first two spots. You should definitely expect more of him in later chapters. And if you're wondering about the town I mentioned, I completely made it up. The Mystic Jungle is a real place though (well, real in the Sonic Universe that is).**


	4. Update

Hey guys. Sorry I haven't updated in so long. January has just been such a crazy month for me and I'm just now starting to level out my schedule. But I'm back and will be trying to write stories regularly.

Unfortunately, this in itself is not a story update. I just wanted to let those of you who have followed and favorite this series know that I am separating these stories into one-shots of their own. If you would like to re-favorite those once they're up, that would be great; if not, I completely understand.

I am terribly sorry for the inconvenience. I'm still awfully new at this, so please bear with me while I figure things out. Fun fact: It is grammatically correct to say 'bear with me' instead of 'bare with me' because the latter would be an invitation to strip. (*≧ω≦*) I just thought that was the funniest thing the first time I found out.

Anyway, I'll leave this notice up for about a week before deleting it. Thank you for your patience. さようなら。(*≧ω≦*)/


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